Keane captures Yorke in six-man signing spree

He may be football's newest manager but Roy Keane was arguably the busiest yesterday. He signed no fewer than six players, the most high-profile being Dwight Yorke, who was also the first to complete his move in a £200,000 deal.

Yorke, a former Manchester United team-mate of Keane's, has swapped Terry Butcher's Sydney FC and life in Australia for the Stadium of Light after completing negotiations by phone. Butcher, one of Keane's managerial predecessors at Sunderland, said the 34-year-old's departure would be a major blow.

"Dwight will be a big loss to both us and the A League," said the former England centre-half. "Dwight had worked very hard and got himself really fit. He's our marquee player and will be difficult to replace."

After a year in Australia the Championship may prove something of a culture shock to Yorke but the striker - who harbours something of a playboy reputation and did not always see eye to eye with Keane during their United days - is just the sort of high-profile signing Sunderland need. He has signed a two-year contract.

Once Yorke, who cost £12.6m when he exchanged Aston Villa for United in 1998, had been recruited, Keane not surprisingly put his energy into midfield positions. Having left the Republic of Ireland squad earlier yesterday to travel to Wearside, Wigan's Graham Kavanagh signed for £400,000 and United's Liam Miller on a free transfer on a three-year contract..

Then late last night Keane secured another Republic of Ireland player, the striker David Connolly, from Wigan in a deal believed to be worth £1.4m.

Kavanagh, 32, is precisely the sort of central midfield enforcer Sunderland have lacked since Gavin McCann's sale to Villa and will be welcomed by supporters.

Miller, hyped as "the next Roy Keane" when Sir Alex Ferguson signed him from Celtic two years ago, has failed to make an impact at Old Trafford but the 25-year-old impressed in a long loan at Leeds last season. Had they been able to afford his wages Leeds would almost certainly have made the deal long-term.

And, looking to acquire players he not only knows but has played alongside, Keane turned to another of his former clubs, Celtic, who allowed Ross Wallace and Stanislav Varga to travel south for talks. Both men signed last night.

Wallace, 21, is a Scotland Under-21 left-winger with pace and crossing precision. Varga is an imposing, 6ft 5in Slovakian central defender who left Slovan Bratislava in 2000 to sign for Peter Reid's Sunderland, where he experienced mixed fortunes before joining Celtic.

Varga, 33, is likely to line up alongside the former Newcastle left-back Robbie Elliott, 32. Elliott has been on a one-month contract at Sunderland but Keane, having liked what he has seen of him in training, yesterday extended that agreement until the end of January.